I need advice from stand-up comedians?

-I'm 21 living in LA. I'm working towards a career writing for shows like Chelsea Lately, Conan, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, SNL etc etc. I'm majoring in English & plan to continue to get a Masters (since a lot of places require them to even become a page) but they also want people who have a background in stand-up. Open mics are traumatizing and the comedy community is predominately men. So if I went to an open mic and started doing a bit about how I hate blow jobs, it wouldn't go over well. Also, I have pretty awful stage fright. I've been in musicals, band, etc and I'm totally fine in a group setting, but whenever I'd get a solo, I'd start trembling, my face goes white(r), my heart pounds, and my hands get clammy.



Whenever I try to convince myself to go to an open mic, the same thing happens before I even leave but I also convince myself that my set isn't funny & all this awful stuff. I don't have any friends that are in comedy, so I don't have anyone I could work with to see from a comedian's stand point how to refine my set or to get advice on how to handle open mics. I desperately want to perform, but I'm too scared to even handle the drive to the club. I guess what I'm asking is that if there's any stand-up comedians reading this, I would really appreciate some (good) advice or support. If you're interested, please include your email address so we can talk. Thanks!I saw this while looking for guitar related questions...



I don't know anything about comedy, except what makes me laugh.



It sounds like you need help with performance anxiety as much as being a comedian, and that I have had in spades!



I am mindful of the time I started playing guitar trio (less people to pay...), I had pretty much the same idea about my music and my band, it is awful, I am awful, I am so exposed, there is no one here to make me sound better etc...



Two things to remember when you are preforming anything: no one knows what you are going to say (in my case it would be play) except for you, so take solace in the fact that you don't have to be perfect.



And second, everybody bombs and sucks once and while, especially at the beginning, if you do suck one night, don't think about it too much. Its about moving on from poor performances - learning what to do, or what not to do next time - then moving on. Over analyzing failure only going to make you more anxious next time.



So, the next time there is an open mic, just go for it, if you bomb, so what? Just do it. People, for the most part, pay attention to confident performers, if you believe you are funny, chances they will to. But like I said, I know just about next to nothing about comedy - just about preforming.



It takes a certain type of person to be comfortable in situations where you are the attention of a crowd, most people have to work on it, but it gets easier the more you do it.